Preparing for the weekend Italian classes, I was reading a lovely book called Acquacotta: recipes and stories from Tuscany’s secret silver coast, by Emiko Davies, given to me, recently, by my dear friend Jenny Peters. Along with some wonderful Tuscan recipes, Emiko mentions the story of Stone Soup or in Italian zuppa di sasso. This [...]
Autumn is chestnut time and they are now appearing in the fruit markets. Chestnuts, unlike other nuts and seeds, are relatively low in calories, carry less fat, but are rich sources of minerals, vitamins and phyto-nutrients that benefit your health. Chestnuts always remind of another old favourite sung by Nat ‘King’ Cole, Christmas song, 'Chestnuts [...]
Duck fat - the good news! Duck fat is a ‘good’ fat, rich in monounsaturated fats with a lower cholesterol than butter. We often cook duck breasts in our French Odyssey cooking classes and duck leg tagines in the Mediterranean - Touch of Spice classes and frequently people are amazed to hear that duck fat [...]
I loved everything about this book! ‘A food lover’s pilgrimage to France: from the vineyards of Burgundy to the mountains of the Basque country food, wine, walking and history on the French pilgrim paths to Santiago de Compostella’ - it is one of the best books I have ever read. Remember, in my former life, [...]
La Madeleine, with 2 star Michelin chef, Patrick Gauthier, was the special highlight dinner during my 2007 stay at La Varenne residential cooking school in Burgundy. Coming back to Sens this time on the barge was a wonderful opportunity for us to book La Madeleine and for me to meet up with Chef [...]
Travelling in France is one of my wonderful joys in life. I love the beautiful countryside, the delightful and interesting people, the history of the places we visit, plus of course French food and wine. On each visit I look forward to a few special dinners or lunches at some wonderful restaurants and brasseries, both [...]
Many months ago, the Western District Epicureans, based in Hamilton, invited me, via my long-standing school friend and their committee member Leigh, to cook with them for their April Epicureannes dinner. It was themed ‘A Mediterranean Dinner with Tonya’. The idea was that their committee of 5 would be led by me, as we do [...]
Over January, at On the Ridge, in Queensland, I enjoy working and planning menus for the year’s classes. I love to cook a variety of dishes, playing around with ingredients, just for fun. Soufflés are not new on the menu at Cooking on the Bay; there is usually a goat’s cheese soufflé in our French [...]
January is always a precious time for me. The cooking school is in recess and I spend the month at Kureelpa, Sunshine Coast, where On the Ridge Cooking School was created. It this idyllic place with wonderful valley views and further out to the Coral Sea, surrounded by peace and tranquillity, warmth and blue skies. [...]
I received this email from a friend and thought I need to share the information with you. The meat glue story has been going for some time and I see this is dated 2011! Interestingly, I was just talking to my cooking class over the weekend about meat glue as we prepared and cooked our [...]
